There is a sea change afoot in the warehouse and logistics business as manufacturers and retailers alike seek to deliver their wares to customers with same-day speed and efficiency. It’s called the last mile, and it has been the talk of the supply line business and the holy grail of modern logistics.
“Last-mile logistics has become integral in every aspect of our economy and a critical component in the functionality of commercial real estate,” writes K.C. Conway, chief economist at the CCIM Institute in a sprawling report on the topic. “It’s become a differentiating factor and disruptive force with the rise of Amazon in the mid-1990s.”
Last-mile logistics is defined as the final — and most expensive — step of the process where a package arrives to the end user or customer in its journey from the factory through distribution channels, Conway explains in detail during a newly published Real Assets Adviser podcast. However, that last mile is depen